The present invention relates to a phosphate ore flotation process. The invention modifies the commonly used xe2x80x9cdouble floatxe2x80x9d process. In the double float process, the first float is to reject most of the silica by floating the phosphate, producing a rougher phosphate concentrate, and the second float is to remove most of the remaining silica in the rougher concentrate by floating the silica. To prevent the phosphate from floating with the silica, the rougher concentrate is scrubbed with dilute acid prior to the second float. This process is referred to as xe2x80x9cde-oilingxe2x80x9d. The present invention includes a method to float inadequately de-oiled phosphate particles prior to silica flotation, using a cationic collector.